If you have concerns about a stray, uncared for or feral cat that you have reason to believe is pregnant or has young kittens then please cotact us at Westgate Ark for a fast track admissioin process to get the mother and kittens to safety.

Kittens born outside seldom live long or happy lives, they die early from disease & malnutricion.

Pip is not quite a feral cat but is a very scared cat who has been living out-doors on the streets of South Benwell for a long time! 

Saved from starvation by kind local residents who built her shelter, fed her and have homed her kittens in the past. Eventually taken off the streets in January 2023 by Westgate Ark, and has now been spayed and successfully homed!

What is meant by Feral cats?

Feral cats are those cats which live wild, where a group of feral cats live together, this is referred to as a colony.

They shun human contact, though starvation will often force them into close proximity with us when scavenging for leftovers. 

Ferals may have been born into the colony or they may have been stray or abandoned cats that have reverted back to a semi-feral state.

Starvation, ill-health, disease and over-population often provoking culling, are amongst the biggest problems faced by feral colonies.

There is a big difference between a lost cat which may be initially a little scared of being handled by a stranger and a true feral cat which will be irreversibly frightened to the core.

Found Some Kittens?

If you have feral kittens growing up in your back garden you should try and get a rescue organisation to take them as soon as possible.

If you are near to us in Tyneside then please do contact us at Westgate Ark as we may be able to come out or suggest another reputable local cat rescue organisation or cat rescuer.

If they are less than five weeks of age, then the mother should be trapped and kept with them in a pen suitable for feral cats, for the next few weeks at least.

What then happens to the mother?

When seperated, the queen, if a feral, should be spayed, ear-tipped and returned to the place where she was caught.

To force close contact upon her, if unwelcome, can be cruel and dangerous. It is a necessary evil to return a feral cat to her point of capture, but now spayed and ear tipped then at least the miserable cycle of more feral kittens born is broken.

This is what she is used to and there is normally no viable alternative. Sometimes it is possible to secure a place for a feral cat on a farm or stables but such suitable offers are few and far between.

We normally try and keep such places for relocating feral cats whose colony is under some form of threat.

Our Feral Help Programme involves:

• Spaying and neutering to control the size of colonies thus lessening the competition for food.
   
• Trapping and testing for the leukaemiaa (FeLV) and feline aids (FIV) viruses.
   
• The rescue, domestication and rehoming of feral kitttens less than 10 weeks old (after this feral behaviour patterns become ingrained).
   
• Treating injuries such as abscesses and damaged tails.
   
• Resettlement of colonies under threat, to more suitable locations such as farm land or stables, where possible.

This feral cat rescue and homing involved three adolescent cats that were stuck in 'no-mans land'. Too old to be domesticated fully within a reasonable time, yet too young to be in with much of a chance of surviving the cold and brutal  life of a feral cat.

This photo shows the oldest youngster nicknamed Charlie, cuddling up with two other slightly smaller feral youngsters also rescued. The three started a new life on a small holding near Hexham with owner Mark caring for them.

All three cats have now been neutered and are used to people to some extent. On the small holding they have plenty of dry sheltered spots with someone feeding and caring for them, but also the freedom and space to be independent. 

Although an adult feral cat can rarely be domesticated that does not mean that there is nothing that can be done to help. By neutering a feral cat countless future kittens are spared the misery of starvation, disease and exposure to the winter elements!

Neutering is a veterinary procedure carried out under anesthetic by a trained veterinary team.

If you would like to sponsor a feral cat to be neutered then please contact us at admin@westgateark.org.uk. The cost will be under £40 for a tom and under £50, for a queen.